Road planer



May 30, 1939. E RNDT 2,160,376

ROAD PLANER Filed April 22, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet l fNVE/VTOR. FRANKLIN E. A N DT,

BY 7 m. 77%,

F. E. ARNDT ROAD PLANER May 30, 1939.

Filed April 22, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 [N VENTOR FRANKLIN EARNDT,

ATTX

May 30; 1939. F. E. ARNDT 2,160,376

' ROAD PLANER Filed April 22, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 M E/VTOR FRANKLIN E. ARNDT,

ATT'X Patented May 30, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROAD PLANER Application April 22, 1936, Serial No. 75,747

1'7 Claims.

This invention relates to a road planer, and one of its objects is the provision at a relatively low cost of a light and durable road planer which will be efficient in operation and capable of being maintained at a relatively low cost.

Another object of the invention is to simplify the construction of a road planer highly efficient in operation with all the controls conveniently located and arranged for one-man operation.

A further object of the invention is to economize in the cost of construction of an improved road planer and reduce the operating cost thereof.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved and efficient road planer embodying wheels to support the machine for transportation but including spaced-apart elongated runners adapted to be let down to the road surface to support the planer unit for operation independently of the up and down movements of the wheels over irregularities along the roadway.

Another object of the invention is to provide a road planer in which the rear strike-01f blade is positioned back of the rear wheels thereby leaving a completely finished road surface devoid of any wheel imprints thereon.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a road planer with a pair of lateral runners of such lengths as to maintain the planer level and to provide for relative adjustment between the runners and the frame of said planer.

Another object of the invention is to provide a planer of the above type with a three position valve whereby material which has been sheared oif by forward blades can be directed to different paths to be distributed by the planer in a leveling operation.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter, the novel features and combinations being set forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figs. 1 and 2, placed end to end, show a side elevational view of the device of my invention coupled to the rear end of a tow truck;

Figs. 3 and l, placed end to end, show a plan View of the device of my invention;

Fig. 5 is a rear end elevational View of the device of my invention;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail View of the control valve comprising a feature of my invention and taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4 looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. '7 is a side elevational View of the .device of my invention shown in a transporting position.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, there is seen a road planer comprising my invention which is coupled to the rear end of a truck 10 by which it may be dragged along a road surface either in the performance of a road planing or leveling operation or merely in being transported from one working location to another. As illustrated in said Figs. 1 and 2, the planer is in a working position. The structure of the road planer can be seen from Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 and comprises a main frame H formed by a pair of spaced longitudinally extending angle members l2, l2 which are rigidly attached as by welding to a pair of transversely extending angle members i3 and M, the angle member [3 being at the rear of the main frame and the angle member M. at thefront thereof. As best seen in Fig. 4 of the drawings, the angle members I3 and I l extend laterally beyond the angle members I 2.

Rigidly attached to the front portion of the main frame H and extending downwardly therefrom and forming a V with an open apex, is a pair of front blades l5 and I6 which are attached to the main frame I I by angle members ll and I8 respectively. The blades l5 and It will be removably attached to the angle members l1 and I8 respectively as by appropriate nuts and bolts, not shown, While the angle members I1 and I8 will be rigidly attached to the angle members l2 and IA of the main frame as by welding. The function of the two front blades l5 and I6 will be to shave and shear off ridges and high places on the road surface and to mix and carry the material to the center of the scraper where it will be distributed by a gate or valve hereinafter described in more detail. I

Positioned substantially intermediate the main frame H and to the rear of the blades l5 and it is a pair of V-shaped blades [9 and 20 which are removably attached to angle members 2| and 22 as by nuts and bolts, not shown, which angle members 2| and 22' will be rigidly attached to the main frame I I. The blades l9 and 20 diverge outwardly from the apex toward the rear of the planer and thus will tend to deflect material towards the outer edges of the planer which is encountered thereby.

As best illustrated in Fig. 6 of the drawings, a gate or valve 23 is provided adjacent the apex of the v formed by the blades l9 and 20. This gate comprises a vertical plate 24 rigidly attached at one end to a pivot shaft 25 pivoted along a vertical axis to a bracket 26 which may be rigidly attached to a cross pipe 2'! (see Fig. 4) of the main frame ll. Appropriate cotter pin and washer means 28 may be provided for removably retaining the pivot shaft on the bracket 26. The plate 24 may have a depth slightly less than the depth of the blades I5, I6, I9 and 20 to permit a small amount of material to pass thereunder regardless of its position of adjustment. The plate 24 also carries a pivoted U-shaped latch 29 which may co-operate selectively with extensions of the blades I5, I6, or with a centrally positioned plate (see Fig. 4) carried by another cross pipe 3! of the main frame II.

It will be obvious that the function of the gate or valve 23 is to determine the division or direction of flow of the main portion of the material which is loosened and mixed by the scrapers I5 and I6. For example, in the position illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawings, most of said material will be directed to be acted upon by the blade 20 and moved laterally to the right side of. the machine viewed from the rear end in the direction of travel. If the gate or valve 23 is adjusted with the latch 29 in co-operation with the central plate 30, then the material will be divided substantially equally between the two blades I9 and 20. By associating the latch 29 with the blades I6 most of the material will be directed to the blade I 9. As was previously mentioned, however, since the plate 24 has its bottom positioned above the bottoms of the blades I51 .16, ;I9 :and 20, all of the material will not be directed to a single blade I9 or 20 at any time. It will be obvious, of course, that due to the removability of the blades I5, I6, I9 and 28' from the respective angles I'I, I8, 2I and 22, said blades may be individually renewed as desired.

In addition to the elements previously described, the main frame II includes two transversely extending cross pipes 32 and 33 which are rigidly attached at their ends to the angle members I2, I2 as by welding to provide a more rigid main frame I I. Also extending transversely between the angle members I2, I2 and rigidly attached thereto at their ends and positioned between the cross pipes 21 and 32 is a plurality of flat bars 34 which provide a grating or platform upon which an operator may stand. Said bars will also lend rigidity to the main frame I I.

At a position to the rear of the cross pipe 32 and extending transversely of the main frame I I and above the angle members I2, I2 thereof, is 'a shaft 35 which is pivotally attached to the angle members I2, I2 by journal boxes 36, 36. At each end of said shaft 35 is provided a rigidly attached arm 31 on the free end of which is mounted a wheel axle 38 carrying a wheel 39 which is preferably provided with a pneumatic tire 4|]. As will be described more in detail hereinafter, the axis of the wheel axle 38 may be vertically adjusted with respect to the main frame I I, 'thereby to raise the main frame and all of the blades carried thereby, as well as the runners, from the road surface or to lower them into operating relation therewith It is to be noted that the blades I9 and 20 have their rear ends projecting laterally beyond the path of the tires '45. As a consequence, any windrows which may be formed by said blades I9 and 20 will be positioned laterally of said tires 40, and such windrows will be eliminated by the strike-off blade 4|.

Also carried by the main frame I I and positioned rearwardly of the tires 40 and extending laterally beyond said tires and laterally beyond the extremities of the blades I9 and 20 is the 'iar "strike-off blade 4| which is removably attached as by nuts and bolts, not shown, to an angularly disposed transversely extending angle member 42 which is adjustably attached, as by nuts and bolts to the bottoms of the angle members I2, I2 of the main frame II. Said strikeofi blade M is preferably of such length that when it is in a plane transverse to the axis of the main frame II it will have its outer edges contacting with the inner upright flanges 44' of angle members 44 of runners 43, hereinafter described in more detail. Angular adjustment of the plane of said blade 4I relative to the mentioned transverse plane is provided by apertures 42 in the angle member 42 and apertures 43' in the horizontal flanges of angle members I2. It will thus be evident that blade 4I may be inclined in either direction to direct excess material toward the road center or toward the road side, when in operation.

It will be evident that when the blade M is inclined it will need to be of greater length to contact both runners '43. I therefore provide a removable extension 4I to provide for this needed increase in length. Said extension may be removed when not necessary, as when the blade II is in a transverse plane. If desired, it may be omitted to form an outlet for windrow material inside of the adjacent runner 43 when the strikeoff blade '4] acts to eliminate the windrows from blades I9 and 20.

It will be evident that in the operation of the device any windrows formed by the deflecting blades I9 and 20 will be distributed over the road surface by the rear strike-01f blade 4|. Said strike-off blade will also tend to leave a completely level road surface behind it entirely devoid of any wheel imprints.

It is to be noted that the forward ends of. the blades I5 and I6 also extend to and contact the inner upright flanges 44 of angle members 44, while the front ends of blades I9 and 20 are spaced therefrom, permitting excess material from said latter blades to form windrows as above mentioned. I

It is also 'to be noted that the V arrangement of the blades I5 and I6 and of the blades I9 and 20 tends to hold the machine on its course due to the balancing of lateral forces, 'th'us preventing any tendency for "side drift of the device even when working on a dry hard road surface.

In order to maintain the main frame II in a substantially level position at all times and to prevent its followin any irregularities in the surface of the road being scraped, I provide a pair of long longitudinally extending runners or straight edges 43, '43 one at each 'side of. the device. The structure of both of said runners 43 will be the same and thus a description of one will sufiice for both. Each of said runners comprises a longitudinally extending angle member 44 having an upright inner flange 44 and a bottom horizontal flange which is provided on its bottom surface with removable runner soles 45 which are re'rnovably attached as by nuts and bolts 46. The runner 'soles 45 are provided'with upwardly curved ends 4'! both forwardly and rearwardly thereof. Said soles '45 may be either one piece or a plurality of pieces as desired.

Adjacent both the forward end and the rear end of each runner '43 I provide an inverted generally U-shaped bracket 48 the ends of which are welded to the angle 'Inember '44. A 'guideway 49 formed by a pair of spaced angle members 50, 50, rigidly attached "to the bracket '48 and to theangle member, is provided for a "purpose which will be described more in detail hereinafter. Extending between one of the angle members 50 and one leg of the bracket 48 I also provide a rigid plate 5I provided with an elongated slot 61, the function of which will also be described more in detail hereinafter.

Adjacent the forward end of each runner 43 I also provide a removable material deflecting plate 52 which contacts the forward end of blade I5 or IE and operates to prevent material which may build up in front of the blade I5 or I6 from flowing laterally over the angle members 44. Also adjacent the central and rear portion of each runner 43 I provide a removable balile plate 53 which rests on the flange 44 of runner 43 and may be held in position by ribs 54. The baflie plates 53 are for the purpose of preventing any surplus material which may tend to form in windrows following the blades I9 and 20 from spilling laterally over the angle members 44, and

thus insuring the even distribution thereof all over the entire road surface by the rear strike-off bilade H.

To provide an adjustable connection between each of the runners 43 and themain frame II whereby said main frame may be supported by said runners and whereby the slope and elevation of each runner may be adjusted with respect to said main frame, I provide four adjustable interconnecting means designated generally by the letters A, B, C and D. In View of the fact that the structure of all of the interconnecting means A, B, C and D are substantially alike, a description of that of interconnecting means A will suffice for all. Said interconnecting means comprises a shaft 55 supported by a bushing 56 in a bracket 51 carried by upstanding angle member 58 rigidly attached to an angle member I2 of the main frame I I. The bushing 56 providesfor a free rotation of the shaft 55 while preventing longitudinal movement thereof. One end of the shaft 55 is provided with a crank 59 whereby said shaft may be rotated by an operator, and the other end thereof is threaded as seen at 66 to telescope with an internally threaded nut 6| carried between a pair of spacedrods 62, 62 (see Fig. 2), which rods 62, 62 provide a connecting link to a lever 63 rigidly attached to one end of a shaft 64 carried by brackets 65, 65 at one end of the angle member I4, which shaft 64 carries at its outer end an arm 66 having a pin or bolt 69 at its outer end. The shaft 54 also extends through the forward guideway 49 of the runner 43 which was previously described. A cotter pin and washer 68 is provided to maintain the runner 43 on the shaft 64 but to permit said runner to move vertically with respect thereto as determined by the guideway 49. The slot 61 co-operates with bolt 69 carried by the arm 66. It will thus be seen that by turning the crank 59 the effective length of the shaft 55 may be adjustably determined. As a consequence the shaft 64 will be rotated either clockwise or counterclockwise depending upon whether the effective length of the shaft 55 is reduced or increased, thereby rotating the arm 66 in a clockwise or counterclockwise drecton. If the arm 66 rotates in a clockwise direction about the axis of shaft 64, it will move the bolt 69.

downwardly which will carry the plate 5| downwardly with those parts which are rigidly attached thereto including the guideway angle members 56 and the bracket 48, or, in other words, the front portion of the runner 43.

Due to the similar construction of the four adjustable interconnecting means A, B, C and D,

it will be manifest that each of the runners 43 may be vertically adjusted with respect to the main frame II at each end thereof. As a consequence, the slope of each runner 43 may be adjusted and its elevation with respect to the main frame II may also be adjusted. It is thus possible to vary the operating effect of the blades I5, I6, I9, 26 and M as they slide over the road surface. The depth of cut and the extent of crowning may thus be adjusted.

In order to provide for the pulling of the scraper along the road either while performing a scraping operation or for transportation and also to co-operate with the rear wheels 39 to lift the scraper from the road surface for transportation purposes, I provide a main drawbar I6 comprising a pair of angle members 'II which are rigidly attached to a pivot block I2 at their forward ends and which are pivotally attached to plates 13 rigid with the angle members I2 of the main frame I I at their rear ends, as by nuts and bolts I4. Appropriate reinforcing cross angles I5 may be provided between the angle members I I.

The pivot block 12 is pivotally attached to a forward pony truck I6 by a downwardly extending neck portion TI. The pony truck I6 comprises a transversely extending inverted U-shaped member I8 carrying the axles I9 upon which are rotatably mounted wheels 89 provided with pneumatic tires 8 I. Extending forwardly from the U- shaped member I8 is a tongue 82 provided with an eye-coupler 83 adapted to be coupled by coupling unit 64 to the towing truck l9. Braces 85 are provided between the tongue 82 and the U- shaped member 18. The neck portion II of the pivot block I2 carries a nut and extends through a somewhat enlarged aperture in a plate 66 which connects the tongue 82 and the U-shaped member I8, thereby providing a universal connection between said pony truck I6 and the main drawbar I9.

As is illustrated in Fig. '7 of the drawings, the scraper may be elevated into a transporting position in which it will be supported by the pony "which is effective to operate the raising and lowering of the wheels 39 upon rotation thereof, is provided with an operating lever 67 to the upper free end of which is pivotally attached a link of adjustable length comp-rising a piston rod 88 of a piston type hydraulic jack or motor 89 having a cylinder pivoted at one end to a rigid bracket 9| by a pin 92, said bracket 9I being rigidly attached to the cross pipe 3I of the main frame I I.

Extending forwardly from the lever 81 and pivotally attached thereto is an operating rod 93 which is pivotally attached to a lever arm 34 which arm in turn is rigidly attached to a crossshaft 95 carried by appropriate bearing boxes 95 on the main drawbar I0. Rigidly attached to said shaft 95 and near the ends thereof are a pair of lever arms 91, 91 which are adjustably attached to a lost motion linkage mechanism comprising a pair of pivotally attached links 98 and 99. Each link 98 is pivotally and adjustably attached to a lever arm 91 and each link 99 is pivotally attached at one end to a link 98 and at the other end to the transverse angle member I4 of the main frame II. Said linkage mechanism 98, 99 is provided whereby a lost motion connection in one direction of movement will be effected between the levers 91 and the transverse angle member I4 of the main frame II, thus permitting the drawbar I0 to pivot freely under the influence of pony truck I6 in moving over an irregular road surface.

It will be evident that upon expansion of the jack or motor 89 with a consequent outward movement of the piston rod 88 thereof, the shaft will rotate in a clockwise direction thereby moving the wheels 39 with tires downwardly to elevate the rear portion of the main frame II and all of those parts carried thereby, including the runners 43, 43. At the same time, the operating rod 93 will move rearwardly under the influence of the lever 81 to rotate the shaft 95 carried by the main drawbar I0 in a counter-clockwise direction. This will swing the levers 91 in a counter-clockwise directionfirst to straighten out the lost motion link mechanism provided by links 98 and 99, and then to elevate the front end of the main frame II due to the fact that said front end will be drawn toward the main drawbar I0. This, of course, will cause the main drawbar 10 to pivot about the axis of bolts I4 and will cause some tilting of the neck portion H of the block I2 in the previously mentioned enlarged aperture in plate 86. It is thus evident that the main frame II and the runners 43, 43 as well as all parts rigid with said main frame will be elevated in parallelism to a transporting position as illustrated in Fig. 7.

To operate the hydraulic jack or motor 89 I provide a hydraulic pump I00 which may be carried upon a bracket IOI supported upon a pedestal I02 carried by said main frame II. An oil reservoir I03 carried on an upstanding angle member 58 will be provided for the pump I00 and will have a feed conduit I04 leading to said pump. An output conduit I05 will be provided between the pump I00 and one end of the cylinder 90 of the jack or motor 89. Operating mechanism for the pump I00 will take the form of a handle I06 and a linkage mechanism I0'I which is attached to the piston of said pump I00. It will be obvious that by oscillating the handle I06 fluid may be extracted from the reservoir I 03 by the pump I00 and fed to the jack or motor 89 thereby to expand it. To release or contract the jack or motor 89 I provide a by-pass hand operated valve I08 which when opened, connects the feed conduit I04 and the output conduit I05, thus allowing oil under pressure in the cylinder 90 to flow back into the oil reservoir I03. It will, of course, be obvious that when the by-pass valve I08 is closed the fluid will have to pass through the pump I00 as determined by the usual check valves thereof.

It is thus evident that an operator standing on the platform provided by the fiat bars 34, may operate the pump handle I06 to control the elevation or lowering of the main frame II and the blades carried thereby and in addition said operator may by means of the cranks 59 (control the elevation and slope of the runners 43 with respect to said main frame II. If desired,

the main frame may be so adjusted that a varied amount of the weight of the scraper will be carried by the tires 40 and 8|; thus variably determining the scraping action of the blades of said road planer.

It may also be mentioned that in addition to the elements previously described, a pair of signal flags I09 may be carried in appropriate sockets H0 at the rear of the planer and at each side thereof.

In the operation of the device to perform a I substantially the complete width of the planer and to the extreme lateral position as determined by the runners 43, will shave and shear ofi ridges and high places on the road surface and mix and carry the material to the center of the planer. determined by the gate or valve 23 and distributed between the blades I9 and 20. The blades I9 and 20 will effectively distribute the material over the road surface and tend to fill any low places. Any excess material will flow laterally of the rear ends of the blades I9 and 20 and form windrows outside of the paths of rear tires 40. This material will be prevented from flowing over the angle members 44 of the runners 43 by the bafile or side plates 53 and will be evenly distributed over the complete road surface by the rear strike-oil. blade M which is positioned rearwardly of the wheels 39. The blades I5, I6, I9, 20 and M will be in full view of the operator who may adjust the runners 43 by the operating means A, B, C or D, or may adjust the jack or motor 89 to produce a desired result.

It is thus obvious that a very small and light, though thoroughly satisfactory, device has been provided for planing and leveling a road surface which may be either of dirt, gravel, or macadam.

The towing vehicle shown at the left-hand portion of Fig. 1 may be a self-propelled dumping The material will then be divided as truck, and crushed stone or other road building 7 material may be permitted to flow gradually therefrom onto the roadway while the machine shown in Figs. 3 and 4 is being towed along the roadway. The distance between the runners 43,

43 is suificiently greater than the distance between the sides of the dumping truck body, to

insure confining the dumped material between the runners, in which event the elongated runners .43, 43 and the vertical baflle plates 53, 53 (Fig.

2) thereon, act as lateral straight edgers to limit the spreading of material along predetermined lines.

It should also be noted that the inner frame comprising the end transverse members I3, I4 has rigidly connected thereto the diagonal spreading and cutting blades I5, I6, I9, 20, and while the front blades I5, I6 and the ends of the strikeoff blade 4|, extend to the runners 43, 43, the latter are connected to the outer ends of the end transverse members I3, I4 and not to the cutting blades. This is important because of the desirability to provide adjustments between the outer ends of the transverse members I3, I4 and the runners 43, 43. That is to say, by rigidly connecting the scraper'blades to the main frame, they may be varied in elevation and inclination transversely of the roadway by the adjustments between the end frame and the end portions of the runners.

While hereinbefore the connections at 69 have been described as being in the form of bolts, it should be understood that pins may be used instead, because the nut and screw elements 60, 6| may be relied on to hold the runner at adjusted elevation after being adjusted by the turning of the corresponding handle 59. As may be seen by terial.

referring to Figs. 3 and 4, one handle 59 may be provided for each individual adjustment at the four corners of the main frame unit. If bolts 69 are employed, they may be tightened after the adjustments have been made, to serve as additional means to hold the runners in adjusted positions relative to the main or supporting frame. It will be noted, however, that when the runners are secured in adjusted positions, they will be rigidly connected to the main frame so that during operation the diagonal cutting blades, the strike-off cutting blade 4| and the spaced runners are all rigidly connected together to constitute a straight edge guided unit. The depth of cut and the crowning of the roadway is regulated by the aforesaid corner adjustments. By reason of the elongation of the side runners 43, 43, over the full length of the supporting frame up to the axle of the front wheels as shown in Fig. 1 and even beyond the rear transverse member [3 as shown in Fig. 4, irregularities in the roadway such as depressions or humps, will not affect the desired regulation of the cutting, spreading and leveling operations. In other words, the cutting blades are supported and gauged along the roadway by the runners independently of the Wheels 39 and 80.

If desired, the support of the machine during operation may be distributed to the wheels, particularly where only depressions in the roadway are to be encountered. In that event, whenever a wheel tends to enter a depression, the position of the cutting blade relative to the road surface will not be disturbed because the runners are already in position to prevent any downward movement of the cutting blades. In fact, the runners will hold up the rear wheels and prevent them from riding down into depressions. The front wheels may enter depressions but the result will be only the bending of the knees or knuckles at 98, 99 without affecting the continuous riding of the front ends of the runners 43, 43 along straight lines.

During operation of the planer to level or crown the road in accordance with the previous adjustments made at the four corners of the main or supporting frame, the diagonal blades I5, [9, i9, 29 co-operate to spread the material over the roadway, and the strike-off blade 4| finishes the operation. Inasmuch as this strike-off blade is back of the rear wheels, it will be impossible for such rear wheels to leave imprints in the finished surface. This feature is especially desirable when working on black top or re-surface material.

The rear strike-off blade 4| extends to the full width of the machine and is adjustable to a number of positions so as to deflect material to either side of the machine. This blade in making the final distrbution also maintains the crown of the roadway. Preferably the angle of the strike-off blade 4| relative to the line of draft of the machine should be such as to maintain in front of it sufficient surplus material to finish filling depressions partially filled by the second pair of blades [9, 20. As above explained, when the planer moves along the roadway, the elongated side runners may be relied on as straight edgers at the lateral limits of the spread ma- As the front diagonal blades I5, l6 shear off the ridges in high places on the roadway, the material is mixed and carried to the central gateway where the valve 24 is located. This valve has three positions. In its central position it divides the flow of material equally to the blades I9, 20. As shown in Fig. 6, material may flow under the gate 24 when either in the full line position shown in Fig. 4 or when in its opposite position. In its full line position shown in Fig. 4, more material will be delivered to the blade 20 than to the blade I9. In crowning operations it may be desirable to deflect most of the material along the blade 20 toward the center of the roadway, assuming that the left-hand straight edger 43, looking forward toward the front end of the machine, is at the left-hand edge of the roadway. To assure these desired operations, it is preferred to set the rear wheels no lower than as shown in Figs. 2 and 5; Then the runners or edgers will, throughout their entire lengths, remain in contact with the roadway during all planing operations, while the front wheels are free to ride up and down all humps and depressions without any effect on the rigid planer unit, there being freedom of pivotal movement of the main drawbar 19 on the pivot M, by reason of the freedom of flexure afforded by the lost motion connection or free knuckles 98, 99. As shown by the holes in the ends of the links 91, 98, these two links' may be adjustably connected together. Preferably the links 91, 98 and 99 are flat metal bars so that the connections between the drawbar in and the main frame I I may effectually resist relative lateral movement between the drawbar T0 and the frame H. That is to say, the pivotal connection at 14 co-operates with the connections between the front end of the main frame and the intermediate portion of the supplemental frame or main drawbar 10 to maintain efficient steering connections between the hauling vehicle and the straight edged side runners.

Obviously those skilled in the art may make various changes in the details and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims hereto appended, and. I therefore wish not to be restricted to the precise construction herein disclosed.

Having thus described and shown an embodiment of my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a road working apparatus, the combination with a main frame, of a pair of adjustable longitudinally extending runners carried thereby, said runners having guide means at each end formed with vertical slots, adjusting means at each runner end comprising rock shafts carried by said main frame and extending through said slots, arms on said shafts for adjusting said runners, and sliding pin means interconnecting the free ends of said arms and said runners whereby said runners may be adjusted in elevation by rotation of said rock shafts.

2. A road working machine comprising a main frame having scraper blades mounted thereon, a drawbar frame pivoted at its rear end to said main frame intermediate the ends of the latter, said drawbar frame extending forwardly from said main frame and provided with carrying wheels, and mechanism connected between said drawbar frame and the front end portion of said main frame to effect movement of the scraper blades into and out of engagement with the road- 3. A road planer comprising a main frame, scraping means carried by said frame, wheels for the rear portion of said frame, means for adjusting the connections between said wheels and such rear portion of said frame to effect variation in elevation of the rear portion of the main frame relative to the road surface, a pony truck, a draw-bar pivotally connected at its front end to said pony truck and at its rear end to said frame intermediate the ends of the latter, elevating connections between the forward portion of said main frame and said drawbar intermediate the ends of the latter, said elevating connections comprising fiat links knuckle jointed in position to knee forwardly when said scraping means engages the road surface and said pony truck rides over irregularities in the roadway, said elevating connections serving also to cooperate with the pivotal connection between the drawbar and the main frame to resist lateral movements of the drawbar relatively to said main frame, and means for operating said elevating connections to elevate the front portion of the main frame away from the road surface.

4. In a road working machine, the combination with a frame, of spaced-apart runners at the sides of said frame, a pair of laterally inclined scraper blades carried at the front end portion of said frame converging toward the frame center, pair of diverging scraper blades carried by said frame behind the first-named blades and extending at their rear ends to points in spaced relation to said runners to permit spreading of material rearwardly of said last-named blades and near said runners while the latter act as edgers in regard to such spread material, a strikeoff blade extending laterally of said frame and spaced rearwardly from the lateral rear ends of said second mentioned pair of blades in position to connect the inner sides of said runners, and upright baffle plates mounted on those portions of the runners adjacent the rear ends of said second pair of blades and extending rearwardly to the ends of said strike-01f blade to confine the spread material edged as aforesaid between the runners for striking off by said strike-01f blade.

5. In a road making machine, the combination with a supporting frame, of parallel spaced-apart elongated runners connected to the sides of said frame, planing and spreading mechanism carried by said frame between said runners, a strikeoif blade having a length approximately equal to the transverse space between said runners, mechanism for holding said strike-01f blade in various positions of adjustment between said runners including a diagonal position with one end of said strike-ofi blade in engagement with the inside face of one of said runners, and an extension plate connected to the other end of said strike-off blade to close the gap between the other end of said strike-01f blade and the adjacent runner.

6. In a road making machine, the combination with a supporting frame, of an elongated runner connected to one side of said frame, planing and spreading mechanism comprising a diagonal scraper blade adapted to spread material toward said runner in a windrow adjacent thereto, and a strike-off blade mounted on said frame for adjustment relative thereto to various diagonal positions with one end of the strike-off blade always in engagement with said runner.

7. In a road making machine, the combination with a supporting frame, of spaced-apart elongated parallel runners connected to the sides of said frame, planing and spreading mechanism carried by said frame and comprising a pair of spaced-apart converging scraper blades in advance and spaced from. a pair of connected diverging scraper blades, a gate movable to positions to direct most of the material from the advance blades to a selected one of the connected blades to cause the formation of a windrow along the inside face of one of said runners, a strikeoif blade equal in length to the space between said runners and adapted to be carried at right angles to said runners while fitting between the same, with the ends in engagement with said runners, means for holding said strike-off blade in adjusted diagonal position with one end in engagement with the runner along which such windrow is formed, and a removable extension plate between the other end of said strike-off blade and the adjacent runner.

8. In a road planer and material spreader, the combination with a supporting frame, of planing and spreader scraper blades mounted thereon, spaced-apart elongated parallel runners extending along the sides of said frame in spaced relation thereto, rigid right angle straight lateral extensions from said frame for connecting said runners thereto, and mechanism comprising a rock shaft individual to each lateral extension for adjusting the relative elevation of the runner and frame adjacent to each extension.

9. In a road planer and material spreader, the combination with a supporting frame comprising spaced side members, of an operators station between said side members, lateral extensions from the ends of said frame, elongated runners at the outer ends of said extensions and extending the full length of the machine in spaced relation to said side members, mechanism between each extension and the adjacent runner for adjusting the elevation of the adjacent corner of the supporting frame relative to the road surface, and means adapted to be actuated from said operators station for operating each elevating mechanism individually.

10. In a road working machine, the combination with a supporting frame, of road working mechanism carried thereby, a drawbar frame pivoted at its rear end to said supporting frame intermediate the ends of the latter, wheels for supporting thefront end of said drawbar frame, and connections comprising knuckle-jointed mechanism between said supporting frame and said drawbar frame intermediate the ends of the latter, said knuckle-jointed mechanism including pivotally connected links serving to co-operate with said pivotal connection between the rear end of said drawbar frame and said supporting frame to resist lateral movement of the front end of the drawbar frame relatively to said supporting frame while being freely flexible for free up and down movements of said drawbar frame relatively to said supporting frame during movement of said wheels over irregularities in the roadway.

11. In a road planer, the combination with a supporting frame, of runners for supporting said frame for dragging over the roadway, planing mechanism carried by said frame, front and rear supporting wheels for said frame, a drawbar frame between the front wheels and said supporting frame, and means for elevating the runners from the roadway comprising a hanger composed of flat plate links pivotally connected on horizontal axes and serving to resist lateral swerving of the drawbar frame while forming a forwardly extending flexible knee to permit freedom of vertical movement of the forward end of the drawbar frame with the runners engaging the ground.

12. In a road working machine, the combination with a supporting frame, of earth working means carried thereby, rear supporting wheels for said frame, a front steering wheel unit, a drawbar frame pivotally connected at its rear end to said supporting frame intermediate the ends of the latter and at its forward end to said steering wheel unit, elevating mechanism connected to the rear wheels, elevating mechanism between said drawbar frame and said supporting frame beneath the drawbar frame, a connection between said elevating devices to secure simultaneous operation of both, means comprising a fluid-pressure motor connected between said supporting frame and one of said elevating mechanisms to secure operation of both simultaneously by reason of said connection, and means for controlling said motor to effect lowering of all portions of the supporting frame by gravity and thereby adjust the earth working means relative to the ground surface.

13. In a road working machine, the combination with a main frame, of planing and spreading blades carried thereby, a supplemental frame pivoted at its rear end on a transverse axis to said main frame intermediate the ends of the latter, a steering wheel unit at the front end of said supplemental frame, rear supporting wheels for said main frame, means connected to said rear wheels and to said supplemental frame for adjusting the elevation of the main frame along vertical lines, side runners adjustably connected to said main frame, and means connected between said main frame and said runners for adjusting the main frame by tilting the same transversely and longitudinally and thereby adjust the planing and spreading blades relative to the road surface while supported by said runners independently of said rear wheels.

14. In a leveling and spreading machine, the combination with a portable frame, of means comprising front and rear wheels for supporting said frame, leveling and spreading mechanism carried by said frame and comprising a transverse blade rearwardly of the rear wheels, elongated runners on opposite sides of said frame and each extending along the entire length of said frame longitudinally thereof with the said transverse blade between the same, and means for adjusting the elevation and transverse inclination of the rear end of said frame relative to said runners to effect adjustment of the elevation and inclination of said transverse blade relative to the road surface.

15. In a road planer and spreader, the combination with a supporting frame, of a pair of laterally inclined scraper and spreader blades converging toward the center of said frame and having their inner ends spaced apart, a pair of connected scraper and spreader blades diverging rearwardly and spaced rearwardly from said firstmentioned blades, a valve deflector pivoted to the juncture of said second-mentioned pair of blades in position to be swung into alinement with either blade of the first-mentioned pair of blades, a vertical retaining abutment plate on said frame between the blades of the first-mentioned pair of blades, and a U-shaped latch pivoted to the top forward edge of said valve deflector in position to fit over the rear top edge of either of said first-mentioned pair of blades or over the rear top edge of the said abutment plate to hold the valve deflector in alinement with either spaced-apart rearwardly converging plate or to hold the valve connected to the frame between the rear ends of such converging plates and spaced therefrom.

16. In a road working machine, the combination with a supporting frame, of planing and spreading mechanism carried thereby, a pair of elongated longitudinal ground engaging runners connected to said frame outside of and spaced laterally from the path of travel of the spreading mechanism in position to act as edgers for the spread material, said runners extending the full length of the frame, a pony truck, means for pivotally hitching the pony truck to said frame to pull the frame along the roadway while said runners are in ground engaging position, the pony truck being free to ride up and down over irregularities in the roadway while said runners maintain the planing and spreading mechanism at an approximate uniform level, and knuckle-jointed mechanism adapted to co-operate with said hitching means to resist lateral swerving of the pony truck relatively to said frame during travel of the machine along the roadway.

17. In a ground leveling and spreading machine, the combination with a portable frame, of leveling and spreading mechanism carried thereby to move bodily therewith, mechanism connected between ground engaging wheels and said frame for adjusting the elevation of the frame together with the leveling and spreading mechanism bodily and equally at the front and rear portions thereof relative to the road surface, an elongated ground engaging runner extending along one side of said frame to reach substantially the full length thereof, and a plurality of spaced-apart devices operable from a single operators station for adjusting the elevation of said runner relative to the road surface when the runner is up off the ground and for adjusting the height of the adjacent side of said frame relative to the road surface when the runner is in supporting contact with the ground and thereby adjust the transverse tilting of the leveling and spreading mechanism.

FRANKLIN E. ARNDI'. 

